November (The Maine Chronicles part 2)
by Truthful nomad
Summary: Hannah's pregnancy continues, and all around her, it seems like the whole town is getting knocked up. Her mysterious dreams and visions continue, and the drama is enhanced by the sudden return of Meg and the Cambion Jesse Turner. Jo continues to struggle with her secret, Eileen's strange symptoms continue, and everyone's lives continue to be surrounded by mystery, and angst.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: The second installment of the multi-part series where the Winchesters have relocated to a bunker outside of a strange Maine town which seems to be a magnet for the paranormal. Hannah's pregnancy continues, and all around her, it seems like the whole village is getting knocked up. Her mysterious dreams and visions continue, and the drama is enhanced by the sudden return of Meg and the Cambion Jesse Turner. Jo continues to struggle with her secret, Eileen's strange symptoms continue, and everyone's lives continue to be surrounded by mystery, suspense, angst, and drama.

**Pairings note**: Castiel/Hannah, Dean/Jo, and future: Jo/Charlie, Poly Sam/Gabriel/Eileen, Claire/Kaia, Future Meg/Crowley, future Jack/Jesse Turner

**Note**: This is part two of Secrets of the Past, you'll need to read part one to understand this story.

As October became November, it seemed to Castiel like their problems continued to mount. And as the fall leaves were mostly on the ground by now, leaving the trees around them bare and awaiting the snow, Castiel stepped into the local courtroom to face the first of those problems.

Hannah and Jack walked on either side of him, both tense and alert just as he was. "I don't understand how my father can be alive," Jack commented. "How is it even possible?"

"I don't know, Jack," Castiel replied slowly as the three of them walked through the halls of the courthouse. "The empty is unstable these days. Angels and Demons who have been long dead have somehow managed to wake up."

Hannah's presence was a result of this, Castiel knew. And Gabriel. If they could wake up, along with Raphael, Castiel should have realized that Lucifer could have as well.

"Like Meg," the tone in Hannah's voice at the mention of Meg concerned Castiel. The demon had been living with them since her sudden arrival, and her presence had certainly caused tension. Her and the antichrist. That was yet another of the many problems and concerns that had Castiel worried these days.

"Let's just focus on our current predicament," Castiel urged, glancing at Hannah. His eyes met hers and sighed in resignation. As Castiel gazed at the angel he loved, his gaze moved towards her belly. At three months along, her pregnancy wasn't quite visible through her clothes, and Castiel often had to remind himself of the situation they were in though it was hard to ignore every morning when she was sick.

Raphael's words echoed through Castiel's mind every time he was reminded. He clung to the hope that Raphael was lying, but he knew Hannah was scared and he couldn't quite push away the nagging doubt in the back of his mind. This wasn't supposed to happen to angels, and neither of them knew what it would mean for them.

"Mr. Novak?" Castiel glanced over to see the courtroom clerk come out of a side door and approach them. "The judge will see you now."

Castiel swallowed, his anxiety threatening to get the best of him as he led his family into the judge's office. Inside, he was confronted with the truth that he had been hoping wasn't so. Lucifer sat quietly in one of the seats, the same sandy blonde-haired man with the piercing blue eyes and the glow of angel grace that enveloped his body which Castiel, Hannah, and Jack were all capable of seeing.

"Castiel," Lucifer greeted with an insincere tone of cheerfulness before glancing at Jack. "Hi, son."

"Do not speak to him," Hannah warned, shooting Lucifer a glare as the three of them filed in. Castiel swallowed and glanced at the judge who raised a brow as he waited patiently behind his desk for all of them to take their seats.

"Defensive are we?" Lucifer taunted with a knowing smirk. "I'd be too if I knew I'd kidnapped someone."

"Alright let's get started shall we?" The judge was a large white-haired man who appeared to be in his 60s or 70s. He regarded them all with interest as he shuffled a stack of papers on his desk. "Now it says here that Nick here claims that you kidnapped his son, Mr. Novak. Is this true?"

"No," Castiel said simply. "Jack's mother entrusted him to my care upon her death."

"Something she did without consulting his father," Nick pointed out. "After she died, Castiel took it upon himself to take my son when he should have been brought to me. I've spent all of these years trying to find them."

Castiel realized that some fabrication on both of their ends would be required. The truth wasn't going to convince the judge of anything. Telling him that Jack was a Nephilim of only two years old when he appeared to be a teenage boy, or that Kelly Kline had died as a direct result of Jack's birth and that Lucifer had been trapped in the apocalypse world at the time of his birth wasn't wise.

Lying wasn't one of Castiel's strong suits, and trying to navigate through the taxing intricacies of human social behavior and communication had always been difficult for him. He realized that his lies were going to have to stay ahead of Lucifer's lies and that Jack would be able to keep up. He felt intimidated by the challenge that lay before him.

"Jack's mother was not in communication with Nick throughout much of her pregnancy," Castiel explained. "She did not wish to be involved with him, and she was afraid for her son's safety. Nick has a violent temper, your honor, and I don't think Jack would be safe in his care."

"That is a complete lie," Lucifer countered. "Jack's mother skipped out on me."

"Alright, that's enough," the judge warned. "I think I'd like to hear from Jack." He turned to the Nephilim who had remained quiet, silently observing the altercation as he sat sandwiched between Castiel and Hannah. "Jack, can you confirm what either of these men has said?"

"Well I was a baby," Jack replied, glancing nervously at Castiel as if seeking acceptance for his reply. The judge was quick to pounce on that.

"Jack, has Castiel told you what to say beforehand?" he questioned. Castiel frowned. He, Dean and Sam did talk about what stories they would work with before coming to court. Castiel and Jack needed to rely on Sam and Dean's knowledge of the legal system in order to fabricate a believable story. They couldn't anticipate what stories Lucifer would use, but they had attempted to predict how the hearing would proceed.

"No, your honor," Jack replied nervously. "Castiel and Hannah take care of me. I like living with them."

The judge turned his attention to Hannah. Hannah had opted to try to remain out of the argument, as she wasn't there when Castiel had befriended Kelly Kline and although Castiel had filled her in, she had been resolved to be there only to support Castiel and Jack.

"What is your relation to Mr. Novak and Jack?" the judge asked. "Are the two of you married?"

"I'm Castiel's partner," Hannah replied. "We are not married, but we reside in the same home, and I care for Jack and Claire."

At the mention of Claire, the judge glanced at his papers and looked at Castiel again. "Mr. Novak I see here that you have had some dealings with child protective services regarding your daughter? It says here you were accused of abandonment in her case?"

"See, what kind of father is he," Lucifer said quickly. "How do I know he won't just abandon Jack someday?"

"I am cooperating with child protective services, and Claire is in school right now," Castiel explained. He was glad that at least that situation seemed to be getting better. Since the incident in the forest, Claire had been much more cooperative, at least for the moment.

"Claire is my sister," Jack pointed out. "She has had teenager issues, but she's getting better."

Castiel had to smile at that. Jack's innocence was often enough to lighten the mood in any situation.

"Do you have any other minors in your care?" the judge asked. Castiel immediately glanced at Hannah. He wasn't sure how to disclose everything. He didn't want to give anyone away, but he thought of Meg and Jesse, and of Kaia who had been staying with Sam and Dean at the moment. He decided to risk it.

"No your honor," he said, glancing at Hannah who mirrored his look of concern "Not yet, anyway. But we are expecting another child."

"I see." The tone in the judge's voice concerned Castiel, and he watched with bated breath as the judge jotted something in his notes.

"It seems at least on the surface that Jack is content in your care," the judge said. "But I haven't discounted the possibility that you told him what to say or how to act. Both of your stories are going to be investigated thoroughly before I make any decisions here. I am going to assign Jack's case to CPS, and the conditions in which he lives are going to be investigated, do you understand this, Mr. Novak?"

"Yes your honor," Castiel made a mental note to warn Sam and Dean. He had already had some practice in covering up their dealings with the paranormal in Claire's case, but it made him nervous that they would uncover something he didn't want them to see.

When the judge released them, and they all filed out of the office, Lucifer sneered in Castiel's direction as Castiel turned to face him. "What are you doing alive?" Castiel demanded as he placed a protective hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Same way your little girl toy here is, bro," Lucifer shot a malicious glance at Hannah as he shrugged. "Death just isn't what it used to be, is it?"

"I don't know what you plan to achieve with this, but it won't work," Castiel warned. As Jack stayed close to him, and Hannah crossed her arms across her chest.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how easy it is to manipulate these humans and their silly, overly complex society with its laws and rules," Lucifer replied with a smirk. "Turns out the trip out of the empty drained my mojo which is why I haven't just leveled this entire town and taken Jack from all of your smoldering corpses. But this will do nicely. See you soon, Son," he winked in Jack's direction before strolling away, confidently.

"Castiel…" Castiel turned to face Jack, the Nephilim's face denoted worry. "They can't take me away, can they?"

Castiel studied Jack for a moment; he wasn't sure how to answer. As an angel, he was far more powerful than any of these humans, but resisting them would cause a lot of trouble for all of them, especially if they intended to stay in this town for a while. But Castiel was determined that as long as he lived, nothing would separate him from this family of his. Not Lucifer, not some human law, so he squeezed Jack's shoulder confidently and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Over my dead body," he proclaimed, prompting a look of confusion from Jack. He wasn't sure if he'd used that phrase correctly, but he didn't need to. "Come on, _Son._" he made sure to emphasis the word son, just as Lucifer had, because he wanted Jack to know that no matter what DNA he shared with the archangel, Jack would always be _his_ son.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

"This is a waste of time," Meg complained as she walked through the halls of the small-town school with Jo and Charlie. Jesse tagged along behind them, gazing around at his surroundings, at the rows of lockers lining the walls, and the display of trophies adorning the upper walls which promoted many student-athletes from past years.

"Sam and Dean are a lot more stationary these days," Jo explained as she walked with Charlie. "This town and the surrounding area has more than enough cases to keep them busy for decades. Plus, it's a perfect place to keep a watch out for Michael. So, we need to blend in and play by the rules, which means all minors need to go to school."

Jo tried to ignore the fact that her stomach had been doing backflips nonstop for days now, and the fact that the smell of blood made her feel more ravenous than usual. She was having a hard time controlling the monster inside her. For years- years now since she had been back from the dead, she had managed to keep it at bay, it was never more than a nag in the back of her mind, but lately the pounding of everyone's hearts, the smell of even a small paper cut, it was almost too much to handle.

So far, not many people knew. Meg figured it out immediately, and Charlie had been Jo's savior in this, bringing her animal blood from the local butcher and keeping it hidden from Sam and Dean, and doing her best to help keep Jo's secret a secret.

Jo had been concerned when Hannah found out. Hannah hadn't quite gotten the hang of living on Earth-like Castiel did, and her instinct was always to go with her angel upbringing which usually meant if it's not human or angel, smite it. But Hannah seemed more distracted with her own situation at the moment, and Jo was glad to have a little more time to figure out what she should do before the angel figured it out for her.

And then there was Dean. Though not as gung ho about ganking anything non-human as he once was, the idea that he'd been sleeping with a vampire all these months would likely come as a surprise and Jo worried about his reaction. She was still conflicted about her own reaction. She was a hunter, too; she killed the thing that she was.

Then, of course, there was the other news. The news that was so sudden and new that she hadn't told anyone yet. Maybe because she didn't want to believe it and just maybe, if she ignored it, it would go away.

"I taught the kid everything I know," Meg pointed out, bringing Jo's attention back to the present. "You know. Demon 101 and all. He doesn't need some lame American institution designed to brainwash young impressional human beings into the sheeple they all grow into eventually."

"Yeah well rules are rules," Jo snapped with irritation as she put a hand to her temple. She had a hard time accepting Meg's presence. She remembered Meg's involvement in hers and her mother's deaths nine years ago, and she didn't understand why Sam and Dean had even entertained dealing with her, regardless of how 'nicer' she was. How could Jo forgive the demon for that? After all, while she had managed to return from the dead, her mother had not.

"Touchy, touchy," Meg taunted as they arrived at the school counselor's office door and gave a soft knock. "Must be the new fangs."

Jo had to admit she was more on edge lately. It had to be the vampire within her, but she wasn't ready to accept it. She'd fight it for as long as she could if she had to.

"Come in" the feminine voice on the other side of the door called, and as Meg pushed the door opened, and Jesse followed her inside, Jo took a step after her before feeling Charlie's hand on her shoulder, halting her advance. She let the demon and her charge go inside before turning to Charlie, pulling the door closed to obscure them from everyone inside.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked with concern. Jo visibly shook with the effort of keeping the surging emotions boiling just beneath her skin under control, but even with her efforts, Charlie's question quickly undid that effort, and Jo felt a single tear trickle out of her eye.

"I'm barely holding it together, Charlie," she admitted, her voice shaky and fragile. "It's so hard. I can hear everyone's heartbeat, and I'm so hungry. And nothing I eat satisfies it."

Charlie leaned closer as if to share a secret. Jo caught the scent of her musky scented perfume as she pressed her lips to the blonde's ear. Somehow, that scent, that sweet scent calmed her.

"If you try to hang in there, I scored you some blood bank donations the other night," she murmured against Jo's ear. The vibration against Jo's ear had her closing her eyes, savoring the feeling. "I can get it to you tonight after Dean goes to bed."

Jo felt the immense gratitude for the redhead. Charlie had been helping keep her secret by supplying the donor blood. All the sneaking around behind Dean's back weighed heavily on Jo, but she just wasn't ready to tell him. She wasn't sure what she was so afraid of, his reaction, or how she'd handle his response. She and Dean didn't have the most harmonious relationship; they butted heads often. She wasn't afraid of the screaming match she knew would occur from this; she was more fearful of how this might change their relationship.

Especially now. "Charlie, there's a reason why the urges are harder to control right now," Jo said slowly as she locked eyes with Charlie, focusing only on those big greenish-blue orbs of hers. Charlie raised a brow, realization dawning on her face.

"Jo… are you pregnant?" Jo swallowed hard and nodded, lowering her gaze to the floor sheepishly.

"How'd you guess?" she murmured softly staring at the laminated flooring underneath her.

"Well it's only the fourth time this week someone in this town has informed me they were knocked up," Charlie explained. Jo glanced at her with curiosity. "My boss at the comic store, some random hairdresser yesterday, her client, and now you. And all total shockers, the hairdresser had her tubes tied."

Jo was immediately on alert. Her hunter's instincts kicked in as she let that news sink in. They'd been in town for going on two months now, and they were all getting used to Hannah's pregnancy, which seemed to defy explanation as well on its own, but it never occurred to any of them that there could be something unnatural at work here.

In Jo's line of work, if something didn't seem right, it probably wasn't. She'd learned to trust her instincts. She'd only learned of her own pregnancy a few days ago, and although she was surprised since she and Dean had been careful, she knew it shouldn't be too far fetched… except for the fact that she happened to be a vampire.

"Hey!" Meg's voice from inside the office brought the two of them to attention. "Are you two going to stay out there forever or are you going to help me with this shit?"

"We'll be doing some investigating later," Charlie murmured before taking Jo's hand in hers and squeezing it. Jo returned the gesture, her face slightly flushed as they both entered the small office.

"Hello," the tall curly-haired woman with the thick accent smiled as the two women came in and stood behind Meg and Jesse who were seated in front of the desk. "Meg was telling me that she just moved here with her son, and I've been telling her that I have Claire, Jack, and Kaia as my students as well. They're all very bright, and it seems that Jesse here is no different."

"Yeah, he's pretty bright," Jo confirmed as she worked to shake the disorientation out of her mind and focused on the present.

"Well he's going to have some makeup work since he's not starting at the beginning of the year," the school counselor explained. "But it shouldn't be too hard with some hard work. We have plenty of electives and extracurricular activities to choose from as well. Do you like sports, Jesse?"

"I guess," Jesse said with a shrug before glancing at Meg for encouragement. For some reason, the maternal relationship that had developed between the demon and the demon hybrid struck a chord with Jo.

"Okay, well, you'll have the chance to pick some out," the counselor said. "You'll have six classes, and your teachers are all right here." Jo watched the counselor hand, Jesse, a piece of paper which held various information like locker number, classroom schedule, and other relevant information. "I should mention that three of your teachers will be going on maternity leave towards the end of the school year but not to worry, we've lined up some good substitutes."

"Three?" Jo repeated, exchanging concerned glances with Charlie before quickly recovering to manage her best smile of sincerity. "Imagine that."

"Yes, it's quite a blessing," the counselor replied before looking at Meg. "Well I think that's all for now, you can get ahold of me any time, and I'll be emailing you a list of school supplies Jesse will need, as well as a form to fill out his information for our records."

"Great," Meg said, feigning interest as she got to her feet and ushered the others back out into the hallway.

"Do I really have to do all this stupid stuff?" Jesse complained as he glanced over his paperwork. "I'm smarter than all of these other kids."

"Thems the rules," Meg mumbled before glancing at Jo and Charlie. Jo was still caught on the fact that they'd encountered three more newly pregnant women.

"At least I'm safe from whatever the hell is going on," Charlie commented with a smirk. "But uh… Eileen and," she glanced at Meg, looking her up and down. "Guess you need a man first too."

"Speak for yourself," Meg shot back. "What are you even talking about?"

"Everyone in town is getting knocked up!" Jo exclaimed as if Meg should know. "Doesn't that strike you as a little abnormal?"

"I hadn't noticed," Meg replied with a shrug before her eyes widened with realization. "Wait… are you…"

Jo sighed, and Meg broke into a wide grin. "Well, fancy that," the demon teased.

"So what are we thinking? Witch?" Charlie pondered as they left the building and headed out into the parking lot where Jo parked the cherry red '65 mustang that Dean had managed to acquire from the car garage he'd been working at.

"Maybe," Jo replied as she got in and waited for everyone else to get in. "But what's her deal? And Hannah got pregnant before we all got here, so I don't know about that theory."

They'd have to figure it out together. Jo hadn't planned to let the demon in on their investigation, but her startled outburst gave her away. At least for now, Sam and Dean didn't seem to be aware of anything, so it seemed like Jo had a head start on them which she was grateful for. She needed a head start because if she wasn't ready to tell Dean about her vampire curse, she certainly wasn't prepared to tell him about this.


	3. Chapter 3

As Hannah strolled down the quiet streets of the small Maine town that had become her home, she had gotten used to the way it felt. The cold, misty fog that descended around her was becoming more frequent as winter loomed. The air was colder, especially at night.

All around her, shops were decorated for autumn. It was becoming a curiosity to her how much Humans seemed to value their traditions, as complex as they were. Last month, the town had been decorated for Halloween. Shops had been adorned with an array of pumpkins, gourds, skulls, and images of death.

Now, the decorations had been replaced by turkeys, cornucopia, and more pumpkins. This was to prepare for a celebration called Thanksgiving which Hannah felt confused about. It seemed strange to her that the humans would celebrate the autumn season so late in the season, after all, it had been autumn since September, and it was nearly winter now.

But trying to decipher the elaborate rituals and ways that humans went about their lives was more important to Hannah than it was before. Especially as it was becoming more apparent to her that she had been to Earth more often than she thought she had.

Just as her mind wandered to the mystery of Scarlett and Violet Vermuellen, she was suddenly aware of a presence. She stopped and turned, scanning the empty streets around her. Her eyes saw nothing, but her angel senses felt more. As she turned back towards her path, a man was suddenly before her. His seemingly opaque facade didn't fool her. She was looking at a spirit.

"What do you want?" She demanded. This man was out of place with his 17th-century blue long coat, vest, and long white wool stockings. Adorning his head of luscious white shoulder-length curls was a tall top hat, and he clutched a cherry wood and ivory cane in his left hand.

The man only stared at her with cold icy blue eyes, his face stern and grim. "Scarlett... "he murmured, reaching his hand to her, wanting to brush her face with his fingers, almost tenderly. Hannah shuddered as his ghostly fingers nearly touched her skin, and she quickly jumped back.

"Don't touch me!" she warned. She didn't want him touching her; there was something about him that made her cringe. To her knowledge, she'd never seen that man before, but there was a familiarity with him that made her blood run cold.

Hannah didn't know why this image conjured up such alarm. She was an angel, no human or spirit could hope to hurt her, and she shouldn't be so intimidated. Yet, she knew this man had hurt her in some way. She wasn't sure how, or when, or why, but she was sure of it.

He scowled but faded away, leaving her alone again. Her heart pounded in her chest as she searched around for any chance he might reappear. She gave a startled yelp when the sudden voice from behind her pierced the silence around her.

"Scarlett is it?" Hannah whirled at the voice to find a familiar figure standing before her. She immediately knew his face- his true face.

"Demon," she scowled, reaching into her coat for her angel blade. Unlike the spirit, she had no problems recognizing and remembering this demon. "Crowley."

Crowley only smiled. "Hello, Darling," he greeted. "I take it you remember me from oh, that time I saved you and your winged giraffe from certain death?"

"Yes," Hannah responded hesitantly as she gripped the hilt of her angel blade, pulling it out of her pocket. She was far less intimidated by the presence of the once king of hell than of the man she'd just seen.

Crowley only huffed at the sight of the angel blade in her hand. "Is that any way to treat someone who just saved your life? Again?"

"What do you mean?" she slowly lowered the blade as he held up his hands to show he wasn't a threat.

"Ghosts these days," he responded. "They don't seem to know their place anymore. Especially when they see something they really want."

"I don't know who that man was," Hannah responded, hotly. "And my name isn't Scarlett."

"Don't be so sure," Crowley responded. He stepped past her and gestured towards the road. "Mind if I escort you home? You never know what might be lurking about in the forest."

"I'm an angel," she scoffed, though she did feel weary of being alone at the moment. She didn't want to ever see that man again, and Crowley's presence seemed to have warded him off for the moment.

The two of them walked through the forest together. "I just want to talk to your Giraffe," Crowley explained. "And his two flannel encased pets. I'm sure they'll all be delighted to see that I'm alive and well."

"They don't care for demonic abominations," Hannah replied, though she had to doubt her own words, after all, Hannah had had to contend with Meg's presence in her home, and Castiel had told her about the past few years and Crowley's involvement in their lives before his supposed death.

"Well, you've already taken in one demonic whore, what's one more?" Crowley replied, implying he knew about Meg.

Hannah said nothing. Her mind was still ringing with memories of the man she'd seen before. She walked fast, eager to get home. She couldn't shake the feeling that even with Crowley's presence, she was being watched from the thickness of the trees and the darkness of night.

When they finally arrived at the house, and Hannah burst into the front door, Crowley casually strode in with her, gazing around at the well-lit entryway.

"Nice little abode you have here," he complimented. "Never pictured Cas as the quaint New England pilgrim type."

Hannah ignored him as she heard voices coming from the dining room. The two of them followed the sounds and found Castiel sitting at the dining table with Meg seated beside him, Jesse and Jack across from them, Jack happily talking about his day at school while he sipped a bowl of soup.

As Hannah gazed upon the scene, her eyes fell on Meg in particular. Her proximity to Castiel was slightly upsetting. Castiel had filled Hannah in on his past dealings with the demon, and she'd felt unsettled ever since. She didn't trust demons, but she found this one to be particularly threatening and she wasn't quite sure why. After all, she trusted Castiel.

"Hannah," Castiel noticed her presence and smiled before seeing who was standing beside her. Meg's face fell at the sight. "Crowley…"

"Yeah, yeah I know I'm supposed to be dead," Crowley said, rolling his eyes. "Yeah well so should a lot of people in this room."

Crowley's gaze fell squarely on Meg when he said the last phrase. Meg glared back at him, squaring her shoulders.

"Clarence, you really should talk to your feather girl about talking to strangers," she scoffed. "She can't be bringing mangy dogs back home with her."

Jack turned in his seat to glance at Crowley as the demon helped himself to a seat at the table, while Hannah hurried to sit down beside Castiel. The Nephilim's curious gaze followed the demon.

"You don't look like a mangy dog," he commented innocently. Crowley rolled his eyes again before turning to Castiel.

"Talk about dysfunctional," he pointed out. "Lucifer's bastard, my favorite chew toy, and a half-demon trouble child? Really Cas I think we need to talk about you associating with the wrong crowd."

"What do you want, Crowley?" Castiel demanded. Hannah felt comforted as she felt him slip a hand into hers under the table, and she responded by gripping it.

"Asylum," Crowley responded. "Ever hear the term 'wanted dead or alive?' In exchange for room and board, I'll offer my services with your little ghost problem."

Hannah raised a brow and looked at the demon. She felt hopeful about the idea of relief from the ghosts and spirits haunting her. "What do you know about that?"

"Let's just say I go back to those days," Crowley responded with a smirk. "And I may not have lived across the pond, but I know someone who did." He glanced at Meg. Meg looked down as Castiel and Hannah both looked at her.

"You said you don't know anything," Castiel proclaimed as Hannah felt a surge of anger. "You said you weren't that old."

"Yeah well, I lied," Meg responded, lowering her gaze to the ground. "And I don't remember anything from those days anyway."

"Ashamed of the past are we?" Crowley taunted. "Or maybe you don't want Cas here to think any less of you. After all, if he knew about your past employment history, he might not be so fond of you."

"That's enough," Castiel insisted, looking at Crowley. "We'd like any assistance you have about these visions and hauntings, Crowley. It would be… kind… of you to help. But I have to know, who is in charge of hell that has you so fearful? Asmodeus is dead."

"Yeah, not so much," Crowley responded. "The empty you know. It's just spitting out angels and demons left and right. You think heaven has a problem; well try four princes of hell united together against one deposed king."

"Four?" Castiel repeated, exchanging worried glances with Hannah. Hannah worried about those possibilities. "All of them have been revived?"

"Along with Lilith and Abaddon. Let's just say hell's court is alive and intact — all the Winchester's greatest hits. Not to worry, Cas. We have two very powerful weapons against them all."

With that, Crowley turned his gaze to the two boys seated silently at the table. Jack and Jesse. Hannah frowned and glanced at Crowley, ready to defend Jack. She didn't like the idea of him being used. After all, the Nephilim had enough to deal with in heaven with the archangels and his father after him. She stiffened, feeling protective, but before she could say anything, Meg beat her to it.

"Hell no," she warned. "You aren't sending my boy to those assholes like some missile. He doesn't know anything about hell."

"Don't pretend to be the mother of the year, you picked this kid off the streets," Crowley shot back. "Look, like it or not, these two are our best weapons against heaven and hell, and we might need to think about training them up."

Then Crowley's eyes roamed to Hannah, and she immediately felt tense as he scrutinized her appearance as if noticing her for the first time. "Or should I say three secret weapons," he muttered.

Hannah swallowed. Silence fell as each of them pondered Crowley's words. Hannah felt as though they'd just been given yet another problem to add to the crushing weight of everything else, staring down on them. At the same time, she began to feel hopeful that they'd gained an ally against at least one of those problems. She looked forward to the day that the visions and hauntings stopped and she was free of them.

Perhaps there was something more to these demons after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"In the last month, there have been at least a dozen cases of women getting pregnant through unexpected circumstances in this town," Jo glanced up at Charlie's announcement as she watched the redhead who was hunched over her laptop, deep in research.

"Where'd you find that?" Jo asked as she got up from her own laptop and moved over to peer over Charlie's shoulder. "And what about further than that?"

"I broke into the records of the local medical clinic," Charlie explained. "It's a small town, so there's only one. But take a look. Many of these women had been on various forms of birth control; three of them had had their tubes tied."

"Well, I found something," Jo responded as she brought her own laptop over. The two of them had been pouring over records and reports for hours now, and the more they learned, it seemed like the more unanswered questions there were.

Jo had thrown herself into this case. She had no idea whether or not Sam or Dean were onto the strange happenings in this town, because, she had been avoiding Dean. She was all too happy to take on a possible hunt if it meant being able to put off having to discuss her vampire problem- or her own pregnancy, for that matter- with him.

"What did you find?" Charlie's voice brought Jo out of her thoughts, and she blinked, concentrating on her own findings.

"Right, sorry," she said. "Apparently, a new fertility clinic opened up in town," she explained. "It seems like this town has an unusual rate of infertility, which seems to have been alleviated by the arrival of a Doctor Ainsworth about a month ago. And then, just like that, even women who weren't planning to get pregnant got knocked up."

"We've only been in town for a month," Charlie said. "And so has this chick, it seems like. Coincidence, maybe?"

"Yeah, well, maybe except her previous located was Kansas," Jo informed her grimly. "She claims to be a traveling doctor who worked in fertility clinics all over the country, and her last stop was a fertility clinic less than 100 miles away from where Sam and Dean's old bunker was. And she was there for about six months."

"Ainsworth, huh?" Charlie murmured contemplatively as she stroked her chin a little. Jo smirked at the small gesture. "Think we should have a look?"

"Yeah," Jo nodded eagerly. "Her presence might explain what's up with Hannah, I mean she got pregnant before we got here and then as soon as we got here, it's like it's something in the water."

"Speaking of that, did you talk to Eileen?" Charlie asked. Jo sighed and sunk into a seat beside her.

"Not yet," she said. "Don't quite know how to tackle that question. Hey Eileen, how's it going, hey, by the way, have you screwed Sam lately?"

"Hey," as if on cue, the brunette's voice had both women glancing up from their seats to the entryway where Eileen stood watching them. Jo frowned as she looked her friend over, trying to discern if there could be anything a little off about her. She couldn't help but notice the preoccupied, distant look on Eileen's face.

"Hey," Charlie greeted before Jo could as Eileen came forward and slumped into a seat at the table, slumping over a bit. There was a tension in the air as Charlie and Jo both studied the woman as she stared at her hands, strands of hair obscuring her face.

Jo waited for Eileen to look at them, knowing she couldn't hear them. When she finally did lift her gaze, Jo couldn't miss the glistening in her red-rimmed eyes, a telltale sign that she had been crying recently.

"Let me guess," Jo began with a sigh. "Aunt Flo didn't pay a visit this month?" Eileen raised a brow in confusion.

"How'd you know?" she asked, looking back and forth between them. Jo and Charlie exchanged glances.

"Well, let's just say we're on the trail of the possible culprit," Charlie replied as she pivoted her laptop around to show Eileen. There was a slight pause as Eileen read the medical records displayed there and the profile of Doctor Ainsworth.

"A doctor at a fertility clinic?" Eileen commented as she read turned her focus back to her friends. "I don't get it. I didn't go to some fertility clinic."

"Neither did I," Jo replied. "And neither did Hannah. But regardless, this bitch is meddling in things she shouldn't be."

Eileen took in a long exasperated breath. "Is she a witch or something? Why is she doing it?"

"We're going to head over to find out," Jo explained as she glanced at a few of her own records. "Whatever she is, I'm willing to bet she isn't human, and that's enough for me."

Jo realized how shallow her own words sounded the moment she uttered them. Not human. As a hunter, it was her job to rid the world of monsters, and Ainsworth might be a monster, but… so was Jo. Was she justified in being part of this hunt? It seemed that she was on the other side of the fence now, and she didn't know how she'd rationalize it. After all, was Ainsworth even bad? Maybe she had good intentions. Perhaps she didn't realize that whatever she was doing was affecting everywhere she went.

"Uh well, that's… that's something I need to tell you two," Eileen said as she sat back in her seat. "You know what happened a month ago… when Sam and Gabriel found me out in the forest right after that werewolf attack…"

"Yeah," Charlie said as Jo recalled the whole ordeal.

"Jo, Charlie… I'm the werewolf," Eileen blurted out, swallowing audibly as a look of worry crossed her eyes. "I could have killed Claire… I had no memory of it, but when Sam told me everything, and the way I was feeling…"

"How were you feeling?" Jo asked gently, mentally encouraging her friend. She found that learning this news gave her a profound sense of relief, though she was concerned for Eileen. At least they were both in this together.

"I know it's crazy, but I felt like I was going through some sort of crazy Vulcan pon far," Eileen replied. "I mean, it's like my libido was in hyperdrive. And it lasted a few days after the full moon. I mean, Sam didn't complain once I got checked out at the hospital and all and if I had just stopped with him…"

"Wait… who else?" Charlie put in. "I mean no one's going to judge or anything, Eileen, you can tell us."

"Gabriel," Eileen stammered out in a breathy sigh. "Sam doesn't know either. I don't know how to tell him. I just… I felt out of my mind. Like I was watching myself from the sideline."

"So uh… I hate to bring this up, but… do you know which one of them the father is?" Charlie asked. At that, Eileen burst into tears. Jo sighed, scooted her chair over, and pulled the woman into her arms while Charlie moved to her other side, rubbing her back.

As Jo held Eileen against her, she glanced over at Charlie. "I've never heard of werewolves having some sort of heat thing," she commented. "But then, no one's ever bothered to take some field notes about their society, you know? There's nothing in the lore that says anything about this being a symptom."

"Maybe it's related to what we're investigating," Charlie suggested with a thoughtful shrug. "We should find out for sure, and we'll start with Ainsworth."

Jo nodded as she held the weeping Eileen. All she could think about was just when it seemed like they were on the trail of some answers; they were confronted with more questions. All she knew was that it seemed like every single one of them was becoming more and more involved in something that none of them had any idea what the outcome would be. And she hated Ainsworth. She hated that she and her friends had become victims in whatever scheme was being cooked up. After all, a hunter's life was not exactly a place to bring in a child, much less three.


End file.
